


Cowboy, Take Me Home

by lem0nfr0ggy



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Universe, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, M/M, New Mexico, Road Trips, Route 66 (Overwatch), Self-Indulgent, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Texas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28359741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lem0nfr0ggy/pseuds/lem0nfr0ggy
Summary: A self-indulgent road trip fic where McCree takes Hanzo to meet his family. His mom is turning 55, and it’s as good an excuse as any to spend extra time with the mysteriously handsome archer. And why does Hanzo feel butterflies in his chest when he’s around his best friend?
Relationships: Jesse McCree & Hanzo Shimada, Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. Plane Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something soft and fluffy to make quarantine a little better. Fic inspired by the song "Cowboy, Take Me Away" by The Chicks

Relationships are complicated. Hanzo certainly knew that: his relationships with family and friends were often strained at best and ended bloodily at worst. He had made a pledge to do better when it came to social interaction and forming genuine bonds with people, but he had always been used to having no one. Why should that change?

Joining Overwatch at his brother's request seemed like the perfect opportunity to work in a safe environment around people he could trust to at least not gravely injure him. And while it was true, he did form bonds with certain teammates and made an effort to genuinely get to know them, Hanzo Shimada was always alone.

"Heya, Hanzo. Can I talk to you?" _Almost always alone._ McCree's voice shook Hanzo from his thoughts, he had been staring into a mug of tea that had now gone cold, but he looked up and shook the disorientation from his eyes to look at McCree.

 _McCree._ Jesse McCree was what Hanzo would refer to as a friend. In fact, since he was one of the people Hanzo had grown closest with during his time at Overwatch, Hanzo might even consider him a 'best friend'. He didn't exactly have the best grasp on how that term should be used, but maybe it was sufficient to describe their relationship.

"Of course you can." Jesse casually took a seat across from him, his serape flopping on the table. His brown eyes were crinkled at the corners, giving him the effect of a perpetual smile.

There was something almost alien about him that was both enamoring and intriguing. Maybe it was the way he walked, spurs announcing his presence wherever he went. Maybe it was his accent, dripping heavily with a Texas drawl with a hint of something else. Maybe that was why Hanzo was opposed the least by spending time with him.

He must have been staring, because Jesse's expression turned to confusion.

"You ok, partner?" Hanzo shook himself out of his thoughts immediately. Something about being called 'partner' by Jesse made his face feel hot. He regained his composure and took a sip of his now-cold tea.

"I apologize. I'm just a little distracted is all." Hanzo muttered. Jesse nodded, humming in understanding.

"I get 'ya. We've all been there."

"So," Hanzo began. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Oh!" McCree startled. He suddenly began to fidget with the edge of his serape. "So... my mom's birthday is ina week." He exhaled harshly, Hanzo noticed that he seemed to be filled with nervous energy- much more than usual. "I got permission from Jack to go see her, but he doesn't trust me enough to let me go alone. Do 'ya wanna be my plus one?"

"Your plus one?" Hanzo was unfamiliar with this term. Jesse let out a nervous chuckle.

"Do 'ya wanna go with me? We'd be there for about a week, just to see her and the family." Something about being asked to meet McCree's family made Hanzo's stomach somersault. He didn't know why- he felt simultaneously nervous and excited by the offer.

"Of course I'd like to come." Hanzo couldn't deny McCree anything, something about his smiling face made it impossible to say no.

"Great!" Jesse nearly yelled. He stopped fidgeting with his serape. "A flight to Albequerqe leaves Monday. Pack for warm weather!' And with that he was off, springing up and out of the communal dining hall. Hanzo almost could have sworn he jumped up and down in the hallway, but the door closed before he could really see anything.

McCree had told him stories about where he grew up, his mother, and his sister. They had always seemed like they were a thousand miles away when Jesse talked about them, but now Hanzo almost had a tangible idea that he would finally meet them. The idea was almost terrifying; he would finally meet the woman that Jesse had held most dear and waxed poetic about at the given opportunity.

 _The plane leaves Monday._ Sure, it may be Friday, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. After finishing his tea, Hanzo returned to his room to pack. Jesse told him to dress for warm weather, so that's what he would do. However, after scouring his closet and laying most of his clothes out on the floor, Hanzo realized that that would be harder than it seemed.

He didn't want to dress _nicely_ , he felt like he was past that level of formality with McCree, but he still felt like he wanted to make an _impression._ Why? He had no idea. After scowling at the contents of his closet, Hanzo accepted defeat and begrudgingly knocked on Genji's door.

"Yes, brother?" If Hanzo could see his face, he'd swear that Genji was smiling mischievously at him.

"I need your help." After explaining his predicament while they walked to Hanzo's room, Genji snickered lightly. "Hey! This is serious." That only made him laugh harder.

"I understand, brother. I can see how much you care." Hanzo huffed, but he couldn't deny what his brother was saying. He _did_ care, much more than he probably should about his friend asking him to meet his family. Genji rubbed his chin in mock thought as he looked through Hanzo's clothes. He stilled, and Hanzo began to grow slightly impatient.

"Well?" He asked quietly.

"If he told you to dress for warm weather, I advise you to do so. T-shirts, shorts, maybe even a swimsuit if you feel like it. Think _casual_ , ani. Don't stress over it." Genji put a hand on Hanzo's shoulder, and even though Hanzo was an inch taller, it felt like a condescending gesture.

"Duly noted." He muttered. That caused Genji to laugh again- a metallic chuckle that made Hanzo grumble.

"Brother," He began, turning Hanzo to face him. "I'm being serious. If he asked you to come with him to meet his mother, he is obviously comfortable with you as a person. You shouldn't have to stress about what you are going to wear." Hanzo nodded quietly. "Jeans and t-shirts."

"Fine." He conceded. After a moment's pause, Genji turned to leave, stopping at the door when Hanzo spoke again. "I've never done this before, you know."

"I know. You don't need to worry." He looked at his brother and Genji's final words before he left made Hanzo's heart flutter. "Jesse cares about you. From what I've heard... he considers you a close friend."

The next few days sped by as the anticipation for Hanzo's first road trip in America filled him with nervous excitement. He'd visited America before, but it had only been for a few days at a time, and his visits usually involved espionage and murder. It was nice to think he'd visit Texas for a week without worrying about his _mission_ or his _target_.

The morning finally arrived; Hanzo had hardly slept at all, instead, he laid awake in bed, consumed with a multitude of thoughts about his upcoming venture to America. Sure, their flight didn't leave until 1:00 pm, but he figured it was as good a chance as any to get an early start to the day.

McCree was a firecracker of excitement. The whole morning, including the drive to the nearest local airport, Jesse was a nonstop stream of stories, promises of things they'd get to do, and people Hanzo would get to meet. All while he talked, a huge grin was plastered across his face that only seemed to get wider whenever he mentioned his family.

As they boarded the plane that would take them to America, Hanzo couldn't help but notice their final destination, plastered on the sign for the gate.

"Jesse, I know I shouldn't question your planning, but this plane is going to land in Albuquerque. I thought you said your family lived in Texas."

"Plano, sugar. Plano, Texas. We just gotta stop in Albuquerque before we go. I need to make things right first. It's the least she deserves." Hanzo didn't know why his mood immediately turned sour at the mention of a _'she'_. Of course, Jesse had had a life in America before he joined Overwatch and met Hanzo. It shouldn't surprise him, nor should it make him _jealous_.

They took their seats, settling into the space they would occupy for the next 12 hours. Jesse let Hanzo take the window seat, which he graciously accepted on the account that he wouldn't be able to sleep if people were moving around or roaming the aisles. It was an old habit, but it had saved him during his darkest moments.

"I'm going to get some sleep. It'll be late when we land." Hanzo didn't want to let on that he had barely had any sleep the previous night, but he could use the difference in time zones to cover that up. After the 12 hour flight and the 8 hour time difference between Gibraltar and Albuquerque, the plane would land at _1:00 am_ their time.

"Alrighty then, Han." Jesse said in a hushed tone as the plane began its thundering acceleration down the runway. "I might join you in a bit."

Hanzo hummed in agreement, but he could already feel his eyelids getting heady as he surrendered himself to his ever-present tiredness. Just another old habit that he picked up where he probably shouldn't: falling asleep quickly. 

Hanzo's nap was dreamless- a blessing- and he awoke maybe a few hours later to pressure on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, still bleary, and saw McCree asleep, leaning against his shoulder. His hat was pulled down over his face, and his left arm was against Hanzo's leg, fingers twitching as he dreamed. 

Hanzo felt a swelling feeling inside his chest as he took in his sleeping friend, leaned up against him for support. There was nothing _wrong_ with Jesse accidentally leaning on him as he slept, but something in his stomach was whispering something _else_. Instead, he allowed his eyelids to droop again as he succumbed to sleep once more.

The plane landed 12 hours and 30 minutes later; the hard contact of the tires on the runway woke both Jesse and Hanzo with a jolt. As they regained their focus after being shaken from their sleep, Hanzo chuckled at the way Jesse's hair was plastered to the back of his head. He pointed it out, and they both laughed tiredly. They stumbled slowly through the airport, barely managing to claim their bags due to the deep tiredness that made every motion feel like a monumental effort. 

Finally, _finally_ , they made it to a hotel. 

"We're only stayin' here for one night. We leave for Plano tomorrow." McCree was barely able to mumble through yawns. Hanzo was only able to grunt in acknowledgment as he kicked off his shoes and flopped down onto his bed. There were two, approximately six feet apart. As much as the implication of what this could mean seemed tempting, Hanzo's bone-tiredness was deafening. Jesse seemed to be equally as tired- he was already climbing into his bed and snuggling up beneath the thin blankets. 

A _'goodnight'_ danced on Hanzo's lips, but he could feel himself sinking into the mattress, and it took so much _effort_ to do anything. Instead, he turned off the light and let sleep overtake him again.


	2. An Errand

The morning was brutal. Waking up and getting out of bed felt like trying to push a large bolder on flat ground. Hanzo felt like he had been dragged through the dirt as he graciously accepted the coffee Jesse had made and drank a deep gulp.

"Jetlag is the worst." Jesse groaned as he drank his coffee, looking as bad as Hanzo felt. He rubbed his tired eyes, which sported light purple bags under them. 

"How long is the drive from here to Plano?" 

"'Bout nine hours." Hanzo whistled in amazement, a habit he had actually picked up from Jesse. "We're gonna have to make a stop first. It's not far." He recalled when Jesse had mentioned needing to stop somewhere before they boarded the plane, but that felt like a lifetime ago. 

The crisp morning air was able to wake Hanzo up a little bit more as they picked up a rental car, a flatbed, and loaded their luggage into it. He had brought his bow- it was tucked away into his bag. Hopefully, he wouldn't need to use it where they were going. 

Jesse drove in silence- the only noise was the muffled radio, which had been set to a random channel out of habit. Hanzo got the feeling that he was nervous, on edge, even. 

"Are you alright, McCree?" He seemed to have startled Jesse out of a deep train of thought because he jumped and shook his head after Hanzo spoke. 

"Not exactly lookin' forward to this. the last I left Ashe, she was pretty mad at me." He chuckled, but Hanzo could sense the tension and bitterness in his voice. _It had not ended well._

"Can I ask what happened?" 

"Yeah. You've met Echo, right?" Hanzo nodded, recalling the first time he met the ethereal robot. "She was being shipped to a holding facility, but the shipment was highjacked by Ashe and her gang." _Ashe._ "I stepped in to take Echo, which she _definetly_ didn't appreciate. We ended up fightin' about it, and I took her bike. She was so _mad._ " Jesse laughed at that, and it felt more genuine this time. 

"She must have been mad." Hanzo mused. 

"Well, it probably wasn't her bike, to begin with!" They both chuckled at that, but Hanzo couldn't shake a lingering sense of paranoia. Why did he feel envious of this girl he never met. She was a friend obviously, and he should respect that. _But had they had something more?_ He pushed those thoughts down with a gulp. It was selfish to think that way, and he knew it. 

As the city faded away, the scenery turned from buildings to gorgeous red rocks, with striations and spires blurred by. After only about 10 minutes of driving, Jesse pulled into a parking lot and turned off the truck. He hesitated for a second before getting out, which caused Hanzo to go into high alert. He grabbed his bow bag from the back of the truck, pinching the crossbody strap between his fingers out of nervousness. 

They were outside a diner, near the edge of a deep canyon. Bits of rock and debris were littered around outside, and the train tracks that were supposed to be running over a bridge above them were broken. _Something happened here._

Jesse was standing as still as a statue, hands at his sides, ready to reach for his Peacekeeper at any moment. It was silent, save for the occasional gust of wind that whistled by. Hanzo gripped his bag strap even tighter. 

"I'm not here for a fight, Ashe." McCree seemed to be speaking to nobody- the street was deserted- but Hanzo was shocked when he heard a response. He noticed that Jesse's right index finger twitched when a voice, feminine and silky smooth with an accent very similar to his, spoke back. 

"Then why are you here, Jesse." A figure stepped into the middle of the street, a woman with a cowboy hat and a semi-automatic rifle balanced on her hip. Her white hair fluttered in the wind as she stared Hanzo and Jesse down. As they held her intense gaze, more people stepped into the street, including a large Omnic, to stand behind the mysterious cowgirl. _Jesse had told him about the Deadlock gang._

"I came here to make amends. I was in town and figured I owed it to 'ya." 

"You also owe me a bike!" She began to stalk forward, the gang members following. Hanzo looked to Jesse, but he was just looking straight forward, not breaking eye contact with the enemy at hand. She walked right up to them both, her reddish eyes narrowing in on McCree. "How do I know I can trust ya after that stunt you pulled. Do you know how hard it's been getting out of here since you jacked our score?" 

"I'm sorry, Ashe. I really am." _Ashe._ Jesse raised his hands in front of him in an apologetic gesture. "I came to make it up to ya. To talk it out." 

"I don't need to 'talk it out' with you." She pointed a finger at Jesse defiantly, her black nails inches from his chest. Ashe dropped her voice to a low snarl, words dripping with venom as she spoke. "Just promise me you'll keep your ass out of Deadlock business. You're not one of us anymore." 

"Fine." Jesse ceded. "Can't make any promises, though!" Ashe looked like she was going to slap him before he quickly cut her off. "Kidding! I'm kidding." 

"I knew that." She chuckled playfully and punched him in the shoulder, clearly letting her guard down. Hanzo let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as Ashe waved the rest of the gang over. "So, who's your friend?" Hanzo ripped his eyes up from the asphalt at the mention of his name. 

"Hanzo. Hanzo Shimada." He stuck out a hand for her to shake, and she took it firmly. Her hands were soft and well-manicured like she'd never had to work a day in her life. _He was shaking her hand too long._

"We work together. Pretty handy with a bow, too." Hanzo smiled at Jesse's compliment, blushing. He also felt a twinge of pride that Ashe looked genuinely impressed by him. 

"C'mon. Let's get a drink." Ashe gestured to the diner, whose owner was watching them through the windows with a cautious look. He probably had expected another fight. 

"I can't drink, but I wouldn't say no to some breakfast." As if on queue, Hanzo's stomach grumbled when McCree mentioned pancakes. They both laughed and headed into the diner with promises of pancakes on their minds. The diner, although small and dark, boasted a fairly good breakfast menu. Jesse and Hanzo ordered pancakes to share, and the rest of the gang ordered various other breakfast items and something called a 'Roadkill Burger'. Hanzo did _not_ want to know what kind of meat was in it. 

The manager watched them all like a hawk, looking for any signs of aggression or indicators of a fight. Jesse was talking jovially with the other gang members, which he seemed to know, about his time with Overwatch. Hanzo was content to sit back and watch him tell stories with bright eyes and exaggerated hand motions. Jesse's dedication to telling a compelling story always put a smile on his face. 

Ashe walked up to the high-top bar and sat next to him casually. Hanzo stiffened but made no attempt to move away. She didn't look like she wanted to fight. 

"So Jesse says you're handy with a bow?" She was eyeing his bow bag, which was still sung across his back. _She obviously wants to look._ The bow was a personal item, which carried conflicted memories and confusing feelings regarding his past and heritage as a Shimada heir. 

"I trained as a boy in Japan. I only use it when I need to." Even though Hanzo hadn't said it, he had definitely conveyed that the bow was going to _remain in the bag_ unless he was provoked. Ashe laughed dryly. 

"Well ok, then." There was a pause as Ashe looked him up and down again, taking in every detail. Her silence made him a little uneasy; he raised his eyebrows in hesitant confusion. "I can see why Jesse likes you. You balance him out." 

_What was that supposed to mean?_ Hanzo figured it was as good a time as ever to ask the question that had been lingering in the back of his mind all day. He had to go about it very carefully.

"Were you and Jesse... ever... together?" Hanzo tried to ask the question as nonchalantly and blasé as possible, but for some reason, the prospect of a _yes_ didn't sit well with him. Ashe looked at him with an unreadable expression- he couldn't tell if she was going to laugh, hit him, or answer normally. He mentally prepared himself for the second option. 

"Naw, we were never together." Ashe answered calmly. She didn't seem to take offense to Hanzo's question, which relieved him. "I was never his type." That last comment made Hanzo consider: _What was McCree's type?_ He clearly didn't know- Jesse had never talked about being with anyone else before, or any particular traits he found attractive. 

"I see." And that was that. He finished his breakfast, sharing the rest of the fluffy, buttery pancakes with Jesse, who continued to tell stories to anyone else who would listen. He even told the story of how he and Hanzo met, which involved his brother, a fight, and sharing a bottle of whiskey as an apology. They said their goodbyes, and Jesse even spared a nod to Ashe, who just rolled her eyes and told him to pay her back for the bike. 

Feeling a lot fuller and more awake, Hanzo and Jesse got back into their truck and began their long drive to Texas. Jesse seemed significantly happier and more at ease than he had been earlier like a weight had been lifted off of his chest. 

"How did you and Ashe meet? You two seem to have known each other for a long time." Hanzo wasn't probing for the sake of ridding himself of the odd feeling in his chest. He was genuinely interested now in their past; Ashe was never mentioned in McCree's stories. 

"She was leading the Deadlock gang through town, and I needed a job to support my mom. She offered me a spot at the table and a stake in the money, so I joined in." Jesse dropped his voice down like he was about to tell him a secret, even though there was nobody around. "I think she might have liked me at one point." Hanzo raised his eyebrows in surprise- Ashe hadn't seemed like she was harboring any feelings towards Jesse when they talked at the diner.

"Really?"

"Yeah." McCree answered with a chuckle. "She was never my type though. A little too spoiled." 

Hanzo left it at that. There was clearly nothing going on between him and Ashe, and their visit was just a peace offering to make up for a messy encounter. Hanzo felt a little embarrassed that he had jumped to conclusions and assumed that Ashe and Jesse had ever been together. _Whatever._ That was that, a stop was a stop, and they were on their way to the final destination: Plano, Texas. Jesse turned up the radio, which was playing an upbeat tune, and they prepared for the next 9 hours of driving ahead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashe is a n g y


End file.
